D.A. declines to file charges against El Monte cop in kicking case

County prosecutors won't file charges against an El Monte police officer caught on tape kicking a gang member in the head after a pursuit that ended in Pico Rivera, officials said Tuesday.

Neither El Monte police Officer George Fierro nor Officer James Singleterry face charges in the May 13 incident, which was shown on live television.

In his report declining to file charges, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jason P. Lustig wrote that Fierro may have been provoked into using a distraction blow when he kicked Richard Rodriguez.

"The physical evidence of Rodriguez's injuries are significantly more consistent with a blow intended to stun or temporarily distract him than with a kick done out of anger or vindictiveness," Lustig wrote in the report, which was released Tuesday.

District Attorney's report.

Singleterry can be seen on video striking Rodriguez with a flashlight. Lustig's report said Singleterry's actions were justified because Rodriguez, a known member of the El Monte Flores street gang, could have been reaching for a weapon.

Lustig described the exchange of a high five by officers after Rodriguez was arrested as a "commonplace" gesture "to signify that no one was injured and that the suspect was captured."

Fierro, who had been assigned to a desk job, will return to patrol. Singleterry was never taken off duty, El Monte police Chief Thomas Armstrong said.

Armstrong said he was pleased with the district attorney's decision not to file charges.

"Officers do have to make decisions in a split second," Armstrong said. "Sometimes that's something that can come into play when it comes to their personal safety."

Tuesday's decision came after a two-month investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Rodriguez's attorney, former Los Angeles Councilman Nick Pacheco, said his client has filed a claim with the city and plans to file suit as that claim has been denied.

He described Fierro's actions as an example of poor police work.

"(Fierro) should have held his gun on Rodriguez and waited for backup," Pacheco said. "Instead he kicked him in the head."

Pacheco also said he expected prosecutors not to file charges in the case.

"That's no surprise. The (District Attorney's Office) has a record of not charging officers."

Officials with the District Attorney's Office declined to comment Tuesday.

In the video of the incident, it appears that Rodriguez was lying defenselessly as Fierro launches a kick into the gang member's head. However, Lustig's report indicates that Rodriguez lifted his head slightly as Fierro approached. Fierro interpreted the move as a flinch, which spooked the officer and provoked the kick, Lustig's report said.

Armstrong sided with the report and warned about relying too heavily on the video of the incident.

"The video cannot be taken in singularity," he said.

Pacheco said the district attorney's head-lift theory lacks adequate attribution.

Pacheco also noted Fierro's kick had the potential to severely injure Rodriguez.

"Consider that kick and the potential of hitting (Rodriguez) in the head and possibly snapping his neck."

Both Pacheco and Armstrong said the use of distraction blows should be scrutinized.